The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim may have had an identity crisis in the last few years, but in the Joe Torre era, the Yankees haven’t forgotten their name. Standing as the only team with a winning record against New York (58-52 overall and 31-24 in the Bronx) since Torre took over in 1996, the Angels swept the struggling Yankees in their first meeting of the season. Spoiling a great effort by Mike Mussina where he allowed only 1 run through six innings, the New York bullpen allowed three walks in the seventh following a walk from Mussina before his departure to plate the tying runs and the go-ahead which the Angels would never relinquish. John Lackey continued the Angels tear through the month of May in a dominating performance that spanned eight innings in which he surrended 2 earned runs on five hits to earn his Major League leading 8th win of the season while lowering his ERA to an AL second best 2.36. For the third straight game, Angels pitching handcuffed the New York lineup drawing a sweep that leaves the see-sawing Yankees sitting at the bottom of the AL East now 12.5 games behind the rival Red Sox.

FINALLY! The Yankees take a series from the Red Sox in the 2007 Rivalry Series with a win in the finale, 8-3. One loss away from dropping to 11 1/2 games back in the standings, the Yankees responded to a Game 2 loss with some much needed run support to back a brilliant performance from Andy Pettitte. Ha ha Curt Schilling! You really showed your age and your temper looking like the whiny infant you portray on your blog through 6 innings of frustration on the mound. The Bombers brought their bats and eight through two delivered collecting 11 of the Yankees 16 hits. Derek Jeter did keep his hit streak alive pushing it to 18 straight and Hideki Matsui and Doug Mientkiewicz went deep to secure an almost must-win for the ailing pinstripes.

The daily turn of the New York tides raised the panic level back to code red as the Boston Red Sox sent the Yankees back to double digits in the standings with their sixth win in eight meetings this season. Mike Mussina surrendered all seven runs getting touched for 10 hits through 6.2 innings of work all the while looking beyond his years with fastballs hitting speeds that felt not much higher than his age. However, after a first inning mistake to Manny Ramirez, Mussina settled in to pitch quite well getting consecutive inning ending double plays to make it into the seven inning (the fourth time a Yankees starter has managed that feat in the last five games, and yes, that is something to mention this season) before giving up three runs upon his departure. After an aggressive Game 1, the Yankees lineup went cold, blowing multiple bases loaded opportunities and leaving 20 total on base throughout the game. Derek Jeter may have extended his hitting streak to 17 games but without the wins to show for, the Yankees captain is hardly thinking of his personal successes this season. What he has to be wondering is how the hell can the Red Sox throw their number five, Julian Tavarez and his gaudy 5.59 ERA, against an All-Star lineup and limit them to 3 hits through 5.2 innings. Or how Manny Ramirez and his .240 batting average can tear down the left field wall with another one of his over-dramatic homerun celebrations around the most humbled diamond in baseball. Or how Big Slopi Ortiz makes a mockery of the shift and pads his ridiculous career numbers against the Yankees. Yes, as long a season as it has been in the early goings you can bet a hit streak will be the furthest thing from New York minds as the Yankees look for Andy Pettitte to save face in the series finale against media heartthrob Curt Schilling. Let’s go Yankees! We need a win.

For as hard as it is to listen to the painful commentating of Rick Sutcliffe, I actually found myself in agreement with him as the New York Yankees delivered a much need win against the division leading Boston Red Sox. As the game played on, Sutcliffe pitched the first piece of good color commentating since his departure from the mound when pointed out the return of the swagger the Yankees lineup hasn’t boasted during their most recent slide. As expected, the Bombers plan to run, run, run against Tim Wakefield opened the doors for the hitters, but the aggressive flair that followed around the diamond carried some much needed relief to fans gripping the panic button. The 6-2 victory against the Red Hot Sox couldn’t have come at a better time, where coming into the game the Yankees were looking up to a 10 1/2 game deficit in the standings. The win also marked their first back-to-back victory since early May after avoiding the Subway Sweep at Shea Stadium this past weekend.

As hard as it has been not to sound like a broken record on the subject of the Yankees starting rotation, along comes the latest New York rookie from the depths of their not-so depleted farm system. For the eleventh time this season, Joe Torre has penciled in a new starter into the Yankees scorecard. For the seventh time it was a rookie, and for the fifth it was a rookie making his Major League debut. For Tyler Clippard it was the opportunity of a lifetime to showcase his 22 year old talent as the latest New York rookie to make his Major League debut this season. After getting the call from Triple A where he posted a 3-2 record with a 2.72 ERA, Clippard found himself thrown into the downside of an ailing Yankees team who had lost 7 of their last 10 games. With their backs against the wall looking at a potential Subway Sweep, Tyler Clippard took the opportunity and made the most of his Major League debut to lift the struggling Yankees.

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There have been no shortage of opportunities for the New York farm system to showcase their talent at the Major League level this season as a plagued Yankees rotation has left one opening after another. Often characterized as talent depleted in recent years, the Yankees minor league system is proving that with an opening, rising stars like Phil Hughes, Matt DeSalvo, Jeff Karstens, and Darrell Rasner are more than ready to compete at the big league level. The most recent starter to get the call, Matt DeSalvo, has shined in the spotlight getting his first major league victory on Saturday night in his second career start. DeSalvo got the call from triple A last week after going 3-0 with a 1.05 ERA in five starts and has turned in similar numbers in two starts against the Seattle Mariners. Boasting some nine pitches in his arsenal, DeSalvo rekindled his confidence in the forkball against the Mariners, a pitch he hasn’t relied on since high school. The results paid off as he limited the Mariners to seven hits and two earned runs over 6 and 2/3 innings of work en route to the win.

Houston, we have solved the problem. A day after Chien-Ming Wang’s bid for perfection in the Bronx, Yankees Stadium was treated to another day of encouragement as Roger Clemens announced to the fans his incumbent return to pinstripes. The coveted pitcher approaching his 45th birthday ended speculation to where he would pitch in 2007, choosing New York over Boston and Houston. Although the move brings instant relief to the struggling rotation it comes with a heavy pricetag, $28M for a prorated season. But in a city that hasn’t seen a World Series parade in six years, it is hard to believe that money was on anyones mind in the Bronx. What is and will be on the minds of every fan until his return to the mound are the winning expectations of a seven time Cy Young winner with 348 career victories and 4604 strikeouts.

Less than one week removed from rookie sensation Phil Hughes’ no-hit bid, Chien-Ming Wang flirted with perfection into the eighth inning at Yankees Stadium. After retiring 22 straight batters, Wang’s perfect game, no-hitter, and shutout bid came to end with one swing of the bat from Ben Broussard, who hit a hanging changeup for a homerun. The unflappable Wang continued the inning amid a standing ovation to get the final two outs, pitching through the eighth to deliver the win in the longest performance by a Yankees starter this season.

Just when you thought it was safe to watch again, another Yankee rotation fatality hit the starting staff in an early season plagued by injury after injury. What was proving to be a special night in rookie sensation Phil Hughes’ career ended with a wince and a slow walk to the dugout in the 7th inning of a no-hit gem. Making his second career start, Hughes flashed all the poise and maturity worthy of the hype as he dominated the Texas Ranger lineup during his quest for immortality. Hughes was so close to the record books, so close to carving a career spot into the Yankees rotation, so close to being embraced as a true Yankee, but in the end, he was only so close. One out into the seventh inning of a 9-0 lead, Hughes grimaced over in pain prompting Joe Torre and the training staff to all but teleport to the mound at light speed fearing the worst. What Phil Hughes couldn’t finish, his hamstring did. Phil Hughes left the game with a line reading 6.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K only to be faced with two numbers no one wanted to see, 4-6 weeks on the disabled list.